at sixty-five
by greyrooms
Summary: The four times Beck brings up marriage and the one time Jade says yes. (For BadePrompt's Save the Date event.)


Prompt: "at sixty-five"

Thanks to Cassandra at BadePrompts for organizing this event! It was fun coming up with an idea for this prompt and I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's fics!

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious and the last scene is VERY heavily inspired by a fanfiction by elsinore-rose on tumblr, I'd just feel really bad if I didn't put that out there.

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At the very first Hollywood Arts audition, it takes only 65 seconds of her voice. Then, just like in the films, he turns to his friend next to him in the audience, not taking his eyes off of her, and says:

"See her? I'm gonna marry that girl someday."

X

They've been dating 65 minutes the first time he brings up marriage. They're hiding in the corner of his father's garage, after he'd been told by his mother to walk her home and neither of them willing to leave.

"I wanna marry you," he says, nodding his head towards her. They're fourteen years old, and wildly immature.

She snorts out a laugh, "Please."

"Okay," he raises his eyebrows, laces their fingers together, "Please?"

Her face flushes and her palms tilt forward to touch his.

He reaches into a spare toolbox and pulls out a metal washer, "Here's your ring. It's all I can afford right now."

"Oh, how incredibly thoughtful," she says sarcastically, taking it from him. "It doesn't fit on my finger, stupid-face."

He pouts before being hit with an idea. He reaches around her neck, her skin shuddering at the feel of his wrists grazing her collarbones, and detaches the small silver chain from around her neck. He drops the washer onto the chain and secures it back, where it would remain until she said yes.

"There," he says, admiring his handiwork.

"Couldn't you at least get me something expensive that I could take to a pawn shop and get some money out of?"

"_Jaaaade._" He smiles and she studies for the first time the way his eyes crease shut when he laughs, and the corners of her mouth turn up.

"Shittiest proposal ever," she remarks with a smile.

X

"Happy 65 day anniversary," he says to her, entering his RV with a bowl of popcorn.

"That's stupid," she says, "The word anniversary comes from the Latin word, anniversarius, which means 'year' and 'to turn'. 65 days isn't a year, and it's not even significant." He sighs, "Oh, right, I forgot that you knew _literally everything in the world._" He tumbles down on the bed next to her, "Anyway… here's to 300 more days?"

The ghost of a smile grazes her face as she nods and rolls her eyes, "Yeah, okay."

And now they're at the point at which she can lean forward and kiss him without fear and he can kiss back with excitement and familiarity at his lips. They had gotten past the awkward kisses with smushed noses and clacking teeth and open eyes. In the two months and however many days preceding he'd had a front row seat to the mess that is her life and still managed to not just stick around for it, but always bring her back to life when she needed it. So she smiles against his lips.

They put in a movie (one of the shitty indie films that he likes to wax all pretentious about) and she gets bored ten minutes in, and distracts herself by admiring the various posters and various fluffy space-filling knick-knacks he has adorning every spare inch of his makeshift home. (She calls it "junk".)

"What does this say?" she says with a mouth full of popcorn, gesturing towards the small framed text on his headboard.

He replies, "It means 'Hawaii is the best'. I think. I don't… speak Hawaiian."

"Oh." She studies the other framed picture, mind wandering, "I wanna get married in Hawaii."

That grabs his attention. "Really? That's so cliché. Do you wanna have one of those love-sand-jars?"

"No. God, no, I _hate _sand. This is brilliant, though- if anyone objects to the wedding, I can throw them in the nearest volcano."

"Who would object to the wedding?" He chuckles.

She lets out a forced, throaty laugh, "Your dad."

"My dad would not object our- wait, so… you'd be marrying me?" His face lights up.

She stares down, her face turning red, "I never said that," she mumbles.

He grins and pulls her close, bombarding her cheek with kisses, sending her into a fit of reluctant shrieks and giggles.

X

It's about 5 and a half years into their relationship (65 months to the day) and Beck and Jade are in their very first apartment in their second year of college.

She's sitting at the kitchen table when he asks, in a baggy cable knit sweater that hangs off one shoulder and covers past her wrists and thumbs. She's eating cereal; he's drinking coffee and doing the morning crossword. The velvet box burns in his pocket.

And although she's not wearing any makeup (or pants, even) he can't help but analyze her face, watch her small frame swim in her sweater, and she just look so beautiful and tiny and human, but at the same time it's as if shecan't even be _real. _He wonders how anyone could ever be afraid of her.

He pauses, opens the box under the table, and studies the ring. It's a dainty silver band, and as much as he'd like to be ostentatious and buy her what she deserved, he had recalled her hatred for huge rock engagement rings. She was different. It's why he loved her. This ring had a small black diamond, a tiny skull on both sides. It's the perfect ring. It's so perfectly _Jade._

He's filled with a sudden urge. He needs to do this _now. _He doesn't kneel, doesn't even say anything until he merely reaches over and drops it onto her cereal-filled spoon.

"Marry me?" A sort of nervousness runs through his veins like caffeine. He stops breathing until she says something.

"…What the hell?"

"Is that a no?"

"I could have _swallowed_ that!"

"You're ruining my proposal!"

"Saying 'marry me' is not a proposal!"

"Well, it's… supposed to be?"

There's a long pause. She feels a laugh build up in her throat, and her mind shouts desperately _oh god don't laugh at him he's serious this time he has a ring_ despite the actual hilarity of the situation. She bites her bottom lip to hide her smile, stares back down into her cereal bowl, "Shittiest proposal ever."

"Hey!—oh, hell, I'm doing _everything_ all wrong. Wait right here." He mentally kicks himself for being so smitten with her he'd forgotten the biggest secret he's kept in the years of their relationship. Her hand is shaking and he's afraid she'll drop her ring into her cereal, so he takes it and sets it down on the kitchen table before he gets up.

He enters their bedroom and she hears mumbles of _goddammit _and _where the hell did I put that_ and sees various items being flung across the room in the frame of the doorway.

Finally, he returns with a black, leather-bound book.

"Read this," he says, setting it next to her and tapping the cover.

"What is this, the _Bible_? If you're trying to give me a lesson on premarital sex, Beck I think it's a little late for that-"

"What? No, just… just read it, please."

"You're proposing to me and you're giving me homework!?" She scowls.

He laughs, "Just read it. You'll like it. I'm gonna leave the room. And no skipping!"

"Fine." She throws a glare in his direction as he makes his way out of sight.

Three seconds later, "…..ARE YOU READING IT YET?"

"_FINE!_"

It's a journal, she decides as she sees the lined pages, and it's huge. The first page is blank. The second simply reads _Jade_ at the top.

_Day 2. I'm really happy you're still wearing the necklace._

"Oh my god…" she gasps softly, her hand leaping to her mouth.

_Day 3. You're going to hate me so hard for this. You're going to say it's cheesy and stupid and you'll punch me. You punch HARD. Maybe I should just stop._

_Day 4. I'm not going to stop._

The writing is messy, boy's handwriting, but neater than it should be. Like it was written slowly. Tentatively.

_Day 7. You were sick from school today and you told me not to come over and take care of you but I think you wanted me to anyway but I didn't. I feel bad._

"I really did want you to come over and take care of me, you jerk." She calls into the other room.

He appears in the doorway, "This is going to go a lot faster if you don't stop for commentary!"

She chokes out a laugh, rolls her eyes in his direction and begins to read again.

_Day 10. You keep calling me "Beckett." That's not my name. It's annoying. Stop doing that. Jadelyn._

"BECKETT!" She calls to him again.

_Day 15. I don't even know why I'm doing this. There is potentially a lot of bodily harm in my future for this but hopefully you won't read this for a long, long time, unless you get a hold of it somehow and I hope that doesn't happen but I'm getting off track. You're great, Jade. I like you a lot. You're important to me and I know things are tough for you but I'm sticking around because one day, I want you to see yourself like I see you._

"Great, now I'm crying." She mumbles, dabbing at her eyes.

It continues, with the notes never more than a week apart. Sometimes with milestones in their relationship, sometimes silly, useless limericks.

_Day 39. I've noticed you've been stealing my shirts, you shirt-thief. Hopefully you're not dating me just for my shirts. If you are, though, I mean… I get it. I have awesome fashion sense. _

_Day 65. I love you._

_Day 66. So much._

_Day 87. Today was our "first time." You accidentally slammed my head into a wall. We laughed and we made love and it was beautiful and you were beautiful and right now you're sleeping next to me and it's exactly where I want you to be, all the time._

_Day 106. I met your mom today. She scares me._

_Day 193. We went to the beach today and we were wrestling in the sand and you sprained your wrist and I know I've said I'm sorry like a million times but here's a million and one. _

_Day 244. I know you've called me "emotionally distant" before and I don't know if I'm trying to prove you wrong with this or if I'm supporting that theory. I'm trying not to be all feelings. Just want you to know the effect you have on me._

_Day 365. Happy (proper) anniversary, Jade. I love you. _

_Day 498. Whenever you get jealous of a girl I want to show you this to prove you're the only person I've written a cheesy romantic journal for. You're the only person who has deserved such a lame gesture._

Her heart pounds in her chest.

_Day 699. You broke up with me today. You're a very hard person to get over, Jade, you know that?_

The next line was crossed off- _Day 700. Alyssa Vaughn means nothing to me._

_Day 701. We got back together today. 'Who said I stopped?' That was good, right? Boyfriend points for Beck. Oh, and my dad's dog-related injuries will heal soon enough._

Jade stifles a laugh. The next few months aren't particularly memorable, and a few months were missing during their longer breakup- there were stories of boring dinner dates, updates on their progress through Full House DVD box sets (_Day 835. You called Michelle Tanner a bitch today. That little bitch is ADORABLE, Jade, and I am reconsidering out entire relationship now.)_, or things that she doesn't particularly want written down. (_Day 929. You are into some freaky bed stuff.)_ She starts reading faster.

_Day 1,007. We got our letters today and we both got into Columbia. One of the happiest days of my life. I'm ecstatic, Jade, I love you so much and we're going to start a future together and it's going to be great._

Beck shows up in the doorway again, "Have you got to the part where you—oh." He stops as he sees the tear-stained trails down her face, and she wipes at her face with the hems of her sleeves.

"Oh, shut _up._" She says as his expression softens. He watches her for a moment, a soft smile on his face, and then leaves the room again.

_Day 1,621. Today we moved into our new apartment together. I don't even know what to say except I love you and you mean the world to me._

"You're messing up my book," Beck says, having returned with a box of tissues. She smiles as he pushes her hair out of her face and wipes away her tears with his thumbs, and she blows her nose.

"Stay here," she sniffs, catching his hand as he begins to leave again. "I'm almost done." He kneels down next to her, not saying a word. He takes her hand and studies her fingers, kisses her palm and wrist softly, and slips his hands up the hem of her sweater, feeling her smooth thighs.

_Day 1,705. You told me you might be pregnant. _

_Day 1,706. You're not pregnant. You said you're happy about it but I want you to know, Jade, when we're ready I would love for you to be the mother of my children. If that's okay with you, of course._

_Day 1,707. We broke the door frame and the kitchen counter during our "we're not pregnant" sex. Let's not raise out children here._

Beck pours her a cup of coffee. She ignores it.

_Day 1,830. I bought your ring today. It basically screamed your name. It was a bit scary. You're a bit scary. This ring is so Jade, it's scary._

_Day 1,925. I know you don't care what your dad thinks, but I called him today and asked for his permission to marry you. He said yes, Jade. He actually said yes. Now I hope you do, too._

Her breath catches in her throat and she looks down at him, her eyes wide and hopeful.

_Day 1,956. We watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy yesterday and we kicked ass at both. We're awesome. I want to be just like this with you until we're 65 years old._

The next entry is the last.

_Day 1,977. I hope you say yes._

She looks down at Beck, who has slipped down onto one knee by her side.

A grin slowly makes its way across his face, "…Please?" He takes the ring off the kitchen table and slips it onto her finger after finding her hand in the vast sea of her too-long sleeves, and she thinks it might be the sexiest thing she's ever seen him do.

Her eyes have lit up, full to the brim with tears. Hoping they don't spill over, she gives the slightest nod. She'll confirm her answer 65 more times before the sun sets. He grins and jumps to his feet, picks her up out of her chair and she shrieks, before wrapping her bare legs around him as he kisses her. They pull apart and share a single sigh, a single moment, foreheads touching.

"I'm so glad you said yes," he says softly.

"Please. As if I'd say anything else. One condition though…"

"Yeah?"

"…Um, well, you didn't say anything about Hawaii in there…"

He chuckles, "Here's to 65 more years."

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THIS WHOLE THING IS SO OUT OF CHARACTER I'M SO SORRY you should rate and review anyway, please?


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